Thanks for sending in your questions and keep them coming for the next Q&A (take the link above or on the left hand menu), we need your questions by next Friday, 14th November please!
Read on for the Questions and Answers...
1) We've seen the new list of stickers that come with the Hasbro figure stands and we've sort of put 2 + 2 together based on previous Q&A's to reveal that the concept figures for 2009 include Anakin Skywalker. Will these concept figures be based around the Clone Wars (i.e. the animated style) or the Prequel's (i.e. realistic) or perhaps even a mixture of both? What other figures will we see in this line - you said that there'll be a total of 4 concept figures next year - are they all from the same period of time and will they all complement one another?
There will indeed be a concept Anakin figure - that much we can confirm. All of these will be realistic figures that fit the Legacy Collection, and will be drawn from a mix of original and prequel trilogy sources.
2) 2008 saw the majority of Star Wars products coming in the 2nd half of the year. Obviously, you've been working hard on the Indy line as well and as you've explained that there's a limit of available factories in the far east to produce goods. Since, it looks doubtful that the Indy line will continue (unless there's another film) does this mean that these same issues will not occur in 2009 and we'll see Star Wars product spread evenly throughout the year ahead? Also, is it too early to tell us how many figures we can expect to see next year in the Basic (Clone Wars and Legacy) and Comic Pack lines?
Star Wars and Indiana Jones did not share factories. The chief reason for the back-loaded slate of releases is because we were switching over to all new assortment numbers for this Fall, which meant that any late Spring items were cancelled and rolled into the Fall assortments (otherwise they would have been released). The situation for 2009 should be smoother, but due to some sculpting challenges we have had, the Spring will be lighter than the Fall once again. Right now, there are about 46 figures slated for the Legacy Collection/Droid Factory in 7 different waves (one wave, the last EU wave, is slated to be January 2010 so we are not counting this one in the 2009 total even though it is very close). There will be about 34 Clone Wars basic figures. There are slated to be 14 new Comic 2-packs next year as well.
3) It's been a while (at least it seems that way) since fans have had a chance to vote on which figures they'd most like to see re-released in > the Greatest Hits line or as new figures. Many of the figures voted for previously have been re-released and some of the most requested figures have also been produced - for that we thank you - how about another fan's choice poll to see what's still wanted so the gaps can be filled? Talking of re-releases, whilst playsets are off the radar for the moment have you considered re-releasing the cardboard Cantina and Jabba's Playset environments as they offer enormous play value for a relatively small price - maybe they could even be included in some form of Battle Pack in the future?
We have talked about a reprise of the 2006 Toy Fare Top 25 poll at some point, but have not had the time to adequately dive in and work on it. We hope to get to it some day soon, and when we do, it will involve the different websites helping with the input to the voting lists. It's just a matter of having the time to be able to get everything sorted out. Stay tuned...